Tombstone Tuesday ~ William Button, 1693, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

This tombstone was photographed at the Point of Graves Burial Ground, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

HERE LYETH BURIED YE BODY

OF WILLIAM BUTTON OF

JERSEY AGED 37 YEARS

DIED YE 19 DAY OF OTOBER

1693

BURIED BY CLEMENT 

LEMPRIERE EN THO. BUTTON

From the book Historic Burial Grounds of the New Hampshire Seacoast by Glenn A. Knoblock, "William Button, 1693, Point of Graves, Portsmouth.  This elaborate stone was carved by a man known only as "J. N.", and has been restored in recent years.  Button was an English merchant with a large business on the Piscataqua River.  He met his death by drowing, probably after falling overboard from his ship Lyon.  The inscription includes the names of the two men who buried him, Clement Lempriere, a sea captain of the Island of Jersey, and Thomas Button, William's brother.  At his death, Button left an estate valued at 1490 pounds, a very large sum in those days.  The details on this stone are striking.  Note the funeral urn in the center topped with a small-winged skull, flanked by cherubs.  The intricately carved side borders depict pomegranates and gourds amidst an abundance of leaves.  Button's gravestone leaves no doubt to his wealth and standing in the community."

----------------------------------

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Tombstone Tuesday ~ William Button, 1693, Portsmouth, New Hampshire", Nutfield Genealogy, posted January 31, 2014, ( http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/10/tombstone-tuesday-william-button-1693.html: accessed [access date]).